Name one Keyboard track that influenced your Keys composition style the most

[tea for two]

Just One (Cornetto).

Not Two. 
Not Three (Trio).

Not :
oh it's a mashup of abc to xyz,
oh I can't narrow it down,
oh it's everything played by this musician,
oh no one influenced me, I am an original

:::::::

It can be :
a rhythmical groove, a small part on a song, a backing track, a few chords, a solo, a whole track.

Any genre.

Any keyboard instrument.

Giving reasons as to why.

:::::::

For me :
After years of listening to Satie, Debussy, Chopin, Scott Joplin, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Nina Simone, Fela Kuti,  Billy Preston, Joni Mitchell, Brenda Russell, Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Keith Jarret, Chic Corea, Abdullah Ibrahim, Bernie Worrell,  Ray Manzarek, Gregg Rolie, John Lord, Joe Zawinul, Wendy Carlos, Vangelis, Tony Banks, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Greg Philingaines, Bill Sharpe, Bheki Mseleku.

It is a Rhodes solo in a guitar hit song released May 1986.
The solo evoking melancholy, evoking love and  lost love, evoking summer and end of summer.

I think you might have guessed.

Played by Max Middleton.
On The Beach by Chris Rea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=paVnqx-_WVU
The whole of Max's playing.
2min32 -2min45
Particularly solo
4min47 - 6min47.

I've realised this just today, listening to various key tracks I've done.
I wasn't doing it consciously, it just happened.

I saw Max with Chris 2017 November 26 Hammersmith Apollo.
I wish I had the chance to kiss Max's hands express my gratitude.

[OneWorld]

I always find these ‘name your best’ doodahs a bit fatuous, the endearing appeal of music is that it is a suit that fits many occasions, sometimes happy, sometimes blue and every other event in between, sometimes a foot stomping boogie woogie, sometimes the sumptuous work of Debussy. Vive la Difference, like your children I suppose, they are all enjoyable in their own way, how could you choose one over the other.

One piano tune I whistle a lot though is Bach’s Italian concerto, the allegro played by Glen Gould, but then oftentimes I listen to The Blue Third - Rip Rig and Panic, Dos Cabeces - Egbert Gismonti, Rapsody in Blue - Gershwin, and Chopin, and Keith Jarrett and Shostakovich, and Beethoven…….I could be here all day

[tea for two]

I always find these ‘name your best’

Not best.

This thread clearly says Most influenced.

Of course we tend to have all sorts of styles on our tracks.

As I do and does pretty much everyone making music.

Look into all the keyboard tracks we made.
Then see which was the One style we did the Most.

[John Egan]

Bob Dylan "Blonde on Blonde" - Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
Regards, John

[IAA]

Wakeman - Catherine of Aragon. Made me throw the Czerny exercises out the window...

[The Elf]

Cinema Show. Quite simply perfection. It pulls me in every emotional direction from start to finish. If I can ever create those emotional extremes in my own music I will die a happy man.

[Skyocean]

The challenge for me with "just one" is that it implies that one's influences are linear. Mine have been quite random throughout the years, like branches on a growing tree, with some branches withering, and strong influences occurring on certain branches more than others. E.g. blues and boogie were my earliest influencers. I wrote a song, then made a mistake and had two songs, then another mistake and 4 songs, 8, 16, 32, et cetera; today my styles barely resemble boogie.

With this disclaimer, here's my pick:

Burn Down the Mission by Elton John. The dynamic shift between melodic and percussive playing really appeals to me. My core style is highly percussive, with lots of intentional parallel octaves, 5ths and suspensions.

Sky

[Forum Admin]

Genesis: Tony Banks' piano intro to Firth Of Fifth. Beautiful melody, fantastic syncopation section, all setting out the motifs that get used later in the various sections of this prog rock classic.

But I could easily have listed The Cinema Show or Watcher Of The Skies epic haunting, cinematic, other-worldly Mellotron/organ intro too!

[Martin Walker]

Genesis 'Watcher of the Skies'

[Folderol]

I can't think of any single track or artist that influenced me. More a general slow process of accumulation from here, there, everywhere over many years. However I'd hazard a guess it was Popcorn that first got me thinking...

I was already holding proto-ideas in my head long before there were any synths that I could possibly afford.

[Eddy Deegan]

Coming from a classical background, when Jarre's 'Revolutions' album was released I was captivated by the intertwining string parts in the track "Industrial Revolution, Pt. 2".

I still think it's a work of genius. I've taken inspiration from a number of artists over the years but Jarre from the mid '70s through to the late '90s was probably the most influential contributor to my style of composition.

[ManFromGlass]

Memory is flakey today for titles so
An old Keith Jarret one
A Chick Corea one (Senior Mouse?)
These were inspirations but hearing me play would lead you to believe that any player that used a forearm on the keyboard or had no motor control over their fingers was my influence.

[Arpangel]

Brian Eno - "Failing Light"

[tea for two]

Tony Banks that's three influences. How would we try to describe Tony's playing?
Tony has such a lightness of touch almost floating.

ManFromGlass, I know what you mean.
You'd think i've got buckets around my hands when I play.

John, Bob Dylan I missed that one. I will listen to it.

Folderol, the Original Popcorn from Gershon Kingsley is such a gorgeous track. Covers of it don't do it any justice.

Sky, Elton John that just right balance of percussiveness and tenderness.

IAA, White Rock was the first album of Rick's I was influenced by. I repurchased it just last year in between lockdowns.

Tony, Eno simplified Satie in a sensitive way.
Thursday Afternoon is a wonderful album.

Eddy, when I very briefly met Jarre at a record singing, I kissed his hand.
I ​would do this for a lot of keyboard musicians before (can't these days of ofcourse).
I just missed Vladimir Ashkenazy when he visited London 2014.
I was kicking myself and still kick myself as I had just moved to Golders Green the Jewish part of London,
and I wasn't aware Vladimir would be visiting The Jewish Cultural Center.
I would have kissed Vladimir's hands.

::::

To hear these tracks through someone else's ears, if that is at all possible, really is another way of appreciating them for me.

So I will listen to them through how I know you on forums for nearly two decades some of yous. Oh dear it's that long

[Martin Walker]

Memory is flakey today for titles so
A Chick Corea one (Senior Mouse?)

Ooh, that reminds me of this Chick Corea/Return To Forever track that has also greatly inspired my own music over the years:

'Medieval Overture': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkqu7GPd0o

Martin

[Arpangel]

Memory is flakey today for titles so
A Chick Corea one (Senior Mouse?)

Ooh, that reminds me of this Chick Corea/Return To Forever track that has also greatly inspired my own music over the years:

'Medieval Overture': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkqu7GPd0o

Martin

Eno and Corea may seem at opposite ends of the spectrum, but Chick was a big influence on me, the trouble with Chick is he just went too far, too many notes, I felt like shouting "shut-up!" But then, there’d be this lovely little oasis, and it’s these little bits that stuck in my mind, and I used them in my music.
Of coarse, Joe Zawinul is thee master magician, the solo on Black Market is unsurpassed, it's like he just got out of a spaceship after a trip to jam with people from another dimension, like WTF is this?! A bit like when I heard the synth solo on Virginia Plain by Roxy Music, miles apart, but just as magical and innovative, Eno ended up recording the track "Zawinul Lava"

[tea for two]

*1969 Terry Riley : A Rainbow in Curved Air
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hy3W-3HPMWg

Terry playing electric harpsichord, rocksichord, electric organ, saxophone.
2nd most influence upon my keys playing composing style.

Terry ofcourse Influenced :
The Who Baba O Riley 1971;
Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells 1972;
Kraftwerk Ralf und Florian album 1973;
Tangerine Dream Phaedra 1974 Sequences style, Soloing style that birthed Berlin school;
Suzanne Ciani Buchla Concerts 1975;
Synth Rock band Curved Air named themselves.

Sufism, African music, Indian Ragas, John Coltrane, were the inspiration on Terry Riley for A Rainbow in Curved Air.

Persian Surgery Dervishes is the Terry Riley concert  for In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air
1971 LosAngelos, 1972 Paris.
Persian Dervishes (the real ones lol) are from Sufism.

[tea for two]

Memory is flakey today for titles so
A Chick Corea one (Senior Mouse?)

Ooh, that reminds me of this Chick Corea/Return To Forever track that has also greatly inspired my own music over the years:

'Medieval Overture': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkqu7GPd0o

Martin

Eno and Corea may seem at opposite ends of the spectrum, but Chick was a big influence on me, the trouble with Chick is he just went too far, too many notes, I felt like shouting "shut-up!" But then, there’d be this lovely little oasis, and it’s these little bits that stuck in my mind, and I used them in my music.

This is the thing with Vangelis. The restraint he shows with his level of keyboard improvisation.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HHGyVb_blHQ
This restraint influenced me from Vangelis.

[tea for two]

Cinema Show. Quite simply perfection. It pulls me in every emotional direction from start to finish. If I can ever create those emotional extremes in my own music I will die a happy man.

Genesis 'Watcher of the Skies'

Genesis: Tony Banks' piano intro to Firth Of Fifth. Beautiful melody, fantastic syncopation section, all setting out the motifs that get used later in the various sections of this prog rock classic.

But I could easily have listed The Cinema Show or Watcher Of The Skies epic haunting, cinematic, other-worldly Mellotron/organ intro too!

I've never tried to write a piece influenced by Tony Banks. I couldn't.  But I feel like i would like to.
I like to get a sense of how the person is.
Tony is thoughtful, attentive, with a breezyness to his style.
This helps me as much as listening to his music.

[resistorman]

Joe Zawinul, Mysterious Traveler, the whole album.

[Arpangel]

Joe Zawinul, Mysterious Traveler, the whole album.

Influences are a strange thing, Zawinul, just as an example, I would be plain mad to even try and play like him, firstly, why would I want to imitate him? and secondly, even if I did have the skill required, it would be pointless, he’s already been to that place, we don’t have his ability, or, his imagination, and in a way, to think "anyone could do it" is a bit of an insult.
We can be nudged into a direction by someone, they can have an overal effect on our "approach" to things, our lifestyle, they can point us to other people that they have mentioned, but as for taking their style, and riffs, it’s just not desirable, in any way.
We have to think big, just because we may not be highly revered by as many people doesn’t mean to say that we don’t have the potential to achieve great things in our own field, we have to be very self critical, without that you’re in danger of being disillusioned, self-criticism is your best friend.
To be just "average" at anything is too depressing for words, average people are all over the place, to stand a chance at being great means not caring about anything apart from your art, and that takes incredible talent, dedication, and selfishness, in that order.
We have to find a place in that metaphorical field where no one else has been, and make it ours, be confident being there, and defend it to the hilt. Because that’s what they did, the Zawinuls, the Eno's, the Beatles, whoever, unless you can stand up and confidently hold your head up alongside these people you are immediately in trouble.
We all the potential to achieve great things, it just depends on your attitude and your general outlook on life as to whether we will be talked about in fifty years time in the same way as we talk about the people mentioned in this thread.
I’ve said this before, we have been here many times, in this dimension, and when we see, or hear, a great work of art, it maybe because the person that has made that work has had to endure many journeys to get to that point in their skill and creativity, genius could be the result of many lives, preparing, and gaining experience, before we finally achieve our aims.

[BillB]

*1969 Terry Riley : A Rainbow in Curved Air
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hy3W-3HPMWg

Terry playing electric harpsichord, rocksichord, electric organ, saxophone.
2nd most influence upon my keys playing composing style.

Wow, thanks for this, tea for two. I hadn’t come across it before, will give it a proper listen. Fascinating in terms of its date and what it influenced, but also from the Youtube comments, how much the the power of this meditational music has meant to people through the years. Great stuff.

[Arpangel]

*1969 Terry Riley : A Rainbow in Curved Air
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hy3W-3HPMWg

Terry playing electric harpsichord, rocksichord, electric organ, saxophone.
2nd most influence upon my keys playing composing style.

Wow, thanks for this, tea for two. I hadn’t come across it before, will give it a proper listen. Fascinating in terms of its date and what it influenced, but also from the Youtube comments, how much the the power of this meditational music has meant to people through the years. Great stuff.

Great stuff, also check out Steve Reich "Music For Eighteen Musicians"

[Ben Asaro]

The opening theme to Escape From New York by John Carpenter.